Tara Murray
Caroline Springs George Cross is keen to make sure it doesn’t take the foot off the pedal despite being the standout team in the FV state league 1 north-west competition.
After 12 rounds of the season, the Georgies sit top of the table, nine points clear of the chasing pack.
Georgies coach Eric Vassiliadis said they were very conscious that they couldn’t let the foot off the pedal.
“We are happy with how things are going and we’re hoping to continue to improve as it looks like a quite tight season with a few teams pushing for promotion,” he said.
“We’re looking to stay the course. Whenever you’re really striving for something, you want to get off to a good start.
“Then that gives you the ability to withstand any disappointment later in the season.”
Vassiliadis said the group had worked really hard in the off-season to come together and put out the performances they had.
It was a tough pre-season for the side, with several players from the team that was top last season when it was cut short by COVID-19 moving on.
“It has been a challenging season with significant injuries and outs,” he said. “Our ability to recruit and get the boys up to speed quickly has been really good.
“Our culture and the leadership of some of the senior players and the work of our coaching staff and leaders to give ourselves a little bit of an advantage has paid off.
“We want to build the personality of being the hardest working team.”
On Saturday, the Georgies faced Yarraville Glory. It would be a dominant display, with the Georgies winning 5-1.
Omar Ammache scored a hat-trick in the win, while James Brown and Josh Whiteley also found the back of the net.
While disappointed to concede one goal, Vassiliadis said overall they were pretty happy with the result.
“I spoke with Paul [Agathouli, Glory coach] and they’re struggling a bit with injury, he said. “They took the points against Brimbank [Stallions] the week before and I’m confident they’ll cause a few more upsets.
“I had been hoping to get a clean sheet, but the attitude and endeavour was really good after a big result the week before.
“We didn’t drop our standards.”
Vassiliadis said it was also nice to get some minutes into some players who don’t necessarily get a lot normally.
The Georgies face third placed Essendon Royals on Friday night. It’s part of a big four or five weeks with matches against some of the chasing pack.
In state league 4 west, Westside Strikers had a 2-1 win against Golden Plains.
The Strikers scored once in each half to take a 2-0 lead before Golden Plains scored a late one to reduce the margin.
Spring Hills suffered a 2-1 loss to Surf Coast, with the Surf Coast scoring once in each half.
In state league 5 west, Melton Phoenix had a big 5-1 win against the Surfside Waves.
Phoenix scored three goals in the first half, before capping it off in the second with two more.
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